Refillable eraser device



'June 24, 1952 E. H. METCALF 2,601,544

REFILLABLE ERASER' DEVICE Filed June :50, 1950 /2 24 /0 H55 /& 7 36 f INVENTOR.

Y Earl H. Me/ca/f 624% r 2a Affomeys Patented June 24, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT -OFFICE REFILLABLE ERASER; DEVICE Earl H. Metcalf, Ridgefield Park, N. J.

Application June 30, 1950, Serial No. 171,383 1 Claim. (01. 120-36) This invention relates to a refillable eraser device which is particularly useful in erasing one or more letters of typewritten matter without blurring or deleting the adjacent letter or letters.

The general object of theinvention is to provide an erasing device which is simple in construction, easily manufactured, and properly supports a long and relatively thin eraser element which may be progressively projected as it is worn down and may be renewed when consumed. As will become apparent, the embodiment of the invention hereinafter described is readily manipulated and refilled with a new eraser element by the user.

The invention Will be understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawin in which the preferred form of the device is shown on an enlarged scale, and in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the erasing device; Fig. 2 is a side view thereof; Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view on the plane 3-3. of Fig. 2, without the eraser element and with the slide member in its extreme retracted position; Fig. 4 is a plan view similar to Fig. 3 but with the slide member in its extreme extended position; Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation on the plane 55 of Fig. 1, showing how the eraser element is gripped and held by the slide member; Fig. 6 is a sectional side elevation, similar to Fig. 5, but with the end of the eraser element largely consumed and with the slide member in its releasing position; and Fig. 7 is an elevation looking at the left end of the erasing device as shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing, the erasing device therein illustrated has a casing H3, made of sheetmetal or other suitable material, which i rectangular in cross-section and is adapted to house a long and relatively thin eraser element I2 which projects from one end of said casing In, as shown at I4.

Arranged for limited longitudinal movement in the casing I is a slide member which cooperates with the eraser element I2. Thi slide member comprises a flexible portion I which lies adjacent one of the wider walls I1 of the casing I0, and a plunger portion IB which is slidable in and projects from the end of the casing Ill opposite the end from which the eraser element projects. The plunger IB of said slide member may be integral with the portion IE, but in the construction shown in the drawing the plunger I8 consists of a block which is secured to the flexible portion I6 of the slide member by means of a rivet 20 which passes through the plunger I 8 and through the member It. At its other end,

the flexible portion IS of the slide member is provided with a toe portion 22 having a serrated end which projects toward and is adapted to engage the eraser element I2 which is located in the space between the member I 2 and the opposite wall 24- of said casing I 0. Adjacent said toe portion 22, the flexible portion ii of the slide memher is deformed so as to provide a cam portion 25 which cooperates with the edge 28 of the casing wall I! which is adjacent the portion it of the slide member, with the result that when the slide member is in its retracted position (as shown in Fig. 5) the serrated end of said toe portion 22 is forced into gripping engagement with said eraser element [2 which is thus forced against the wall 2:! of the casing. Fig. 6 shows said slide member in its extended position in which the pressure of the toe portion 22. on the erasing element I2 is released owing to the position of the cam portion 26 with reference to the edge 28 of the casing.

The slide member is biased toward its retracted position, in which its toe. portion 22 grips the eraser element H, by a compression spring 36 which is located within the casing and cooperates with an abutment carried by the latter and with the plunger I8 forming a part of the slide member. As illustrated in the drawing, said abutment comprises a pin 32 which is carried by the casing I 0 and extends across its interior. The compression spring 30 at one end is attached as shown to said pin 32, and at its other end the spring 30 engages the plunger I8 from which a stud 34 projects into the spring thereby retaining the latter during the assembly of the various parts of the device. The pin 32 is shown as provided with a threaded end 35 which enters a threaded hole in a wall of the casing I 0, the other end of said pin 32 being provided with a slot 36 which facilitates the rotation of the pin 32 with a screw-driver durin assembly. Of course, however, the pin 32 may be secured in the casing ID by riveting. In order to limit the retracted movement of said slide member I 0 under the influence of the spring 26 (when there is no eraser element in the casing) the portion I6 of said slide member is provided with a projecting portion, preferably in the form of an offset lug 31, which is adapted to engage the abutment or pin 32, as shown in Fig. 3.

Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 7 show the eraser device with the eraser element I2 projecting from the casing Ill and ready for use. It will be apparent that the eraser element I2 is then securely held against sliding into the casing during use of the device, by the engagement of the toe portion 22 of the slide member with the eraser element l2 under the influence of the cam portion 26 and the spring 30 which holds the slide member in its' retracted position. When the end ll of the eraser element l2 becomes worn down through use, depression of the plunger IE will move the slide member and its cam portion 26 into the position shown in Fig. 6, thereby releasing the pressure of the toe portion 22 on the eraser element, whereupon the user with his fingers can pull the eraser element out of the casing a short distance until the eraser element projects beyond the toe 22 sufficiently to permit its satisfactory use. The plunger [8 is then released, and the spring 30 retracts the slide member to the position shown in Fig. 5 in which the toe portion 22 again engages and grips the eraser element l2 and forces it against the wall 24 of the casing. However, in practice it will often be found that during the depression of the plunger l8 and the movement of the slide member (from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. 6) the serrated end of the toe 22 will cause the eraser element l2 to slide a short distance out of the casing Ill, and when the plunger I8 is released and the slide member retracts under the influence of the spring 30, the toe 22 will slide over the surface of the eraser element l2 until the toe 22 again grips the eraser element I2, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5. Therefore, in order to extend the eraser element l2 from the casing l0 after the end It is worn down, it may only be necessary for the user to depress plunger l8 without using his fingers to pull the eraser element I2 out of the casing.

Since various changes may be made in the details of the construction above described for purposes of illustration, the invention is not to be considered as limited thereto but is to be construed broadly within the purview of the claim.

What is claimed is:

An erasing device comprising a casing rectangular in transverse cross-section and adapted to house a long and relatively thin eraser element which projects from one end of said casing, a slide member having a flexible portion movable longitudinally in said casing adjacent one of the Wider walls thereof and projecting from said casing at both ends and providing a space for said eraser element between flexible portions of said slide member and the opposite wall of said casing, said slide member being provided at one end with a block slidable in and projecting from said casing and at the other end with a toe portion projecting toward and adapted to engage said eraser element and having an adjacent cam portion cooperating with the end edge of the wall of said casing which is adjacent the flexible portion of said slide member thereby in the retracted position of said slide member forcing said toe portion into gripping engagement with said eraser element, a pin extending through the narrower walls of said casing and extending across its interior, a compression spring located within said casing and attached at one end to said pin and at its other end surrounding a stud projecting from said block, whereby said spring biases said slide member toward the retracted position in which its toe portion grips said eraser element, said slide member being provided with an offset portion extending into the said space for said eraser element and adapted to engage said pin and limit the extreme retracted movement of said slide member by said spring in the absence of said eraser element.

EARL H. METC'ALF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 326,737 Hoffman Sept. 22, 1885 2,115,806 Frederick May 3, 1938 2,517,859 Fehr Aug. 8, 1950 

